Lazy Week pt 1

Right, I have a really shit week ahead.

End of year review today and three days in the smoke to look forward to. So I have decided to do a week of original songs that were either covered by the Cramps or The Fall, two of the most plagiaristic bands in my collection, indeed a couple of this weeks track will have been covered by both. Both bands however put their own inimitable slant on anything they cover.

First up we have Strychnine by the Sonics and released on their 1965 album Here Are The Sonics, the track was also included on the seminal Nuggets compilation of 60s US Garage bands.

This was also the last track that waste of space and fuck-wit Smith sung from the stage the other Thursday in Edinburgh. The Fall's version can be found on The Complete Peel Sessions and various live things. The Cramps version appears on Songs The Lord Taught Us.

The Sonics - Strychnine

"If You're Gonna Play It Out Of Tune, Play It Out Of Tune Properly" pt 6

Mark Smith's love of mid to late 60's American garage bands is well documented and it comes as no surprise that he choose to cover a few classic tracks from this period including Strychnine by The Sonics.

The Sonics were formed in Tacoma, Washington in late 1960. Their first single The Witch was released in November 1964 on the Etiquette label, which was owned by another local garage band the Wailers. Between 1964 and 1966 when they left the label eight singles and two albums. Strychnine was included on the first album but was never released as a single while the band was in existence.

The band left the Etiquette label in 1966 and moved to Hollywood to record for the Jerden label but the band were not happy with the new more civilised sound that was produced and the band slowly disintegrated over the next couple of years, only to reform in 1972 to perform a live show. The band like so many others reformed again in the late noughties and as far as I am aware are still touring but don't know about recording.

The Sonics - Strychnine

The Fall covered the track for their sixteenth Peel Session broadcast on 13/03/1993 and has been known to be included in their live sets over the years.

The Fall - Strychnine